In March, the Tennessee Bar Association published the 10th Edition of the Alimony Bench Book. This useful tool is edited by members of both the bench and bar who strive to keep us informed and up to date on the current law and trends in alimony awards (and denials) across the state and provide useful information on enforcement, collection,...

It is an honor and a privilege to serve as the president of the TBA. I love our profession and I love being a lawyer. Growing up in Grainger County (famous for tomatoes), Tenn., I only knew one lawyer, Creed Daniel. When I was considering law school, I went to talk to him about being a lawyer since I really didn’t know anything about the practice of law...

Writing is never easy, and no treatise can make it so. Legal writing is one of the most difficult tasks we do as attorneys, but Theodore L. Blumberg’s book, The Seven Deadly Sins of Legal Writing, is sure to improve anyone’s legal writing by providing a concise roadmap of what...

The Tennessee Bar Association was recognized in October with three Luminary Awards from the National Association of Bar Executives. The Tennessee Bar Journal earned a Luminary Award for The Law Launch Project, which followed 15 law students through their last year of school.

Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis LLP recently announced that partner Miranda K. Kelley has been named chair of “Women of Waller,” an internal initiative that provides female attorneys with opportunities for mentoring, community service, work-life balance and leadership development, and that MaryEllen Sullivan Pickrell...

Nashville lawyer Jacqueline B. Dixon took office as the Tennessee Bar Association’s (TBA) 130th president, after being sworn into office by Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Connie Clark during the annual convention in Memphis, June 6-9. Dixon laid out her vision for the year, which included a focus on civics education, civility in the profession,...

Former Criminal Court Judge and TBA senior counselor FRED A. KELLY died Sept. 27 at the age of 93. Kelly graduated from the University of Tennessee and later served in World War II, earning the rank of captain. He graduated from Vanderbilt University Law School in 1948 and began practicing law in Gallatin. A native of the city, he went...

Reinstated

The following attorneys have been reinstated to the practice of law after complying with Section 20 of Supreme Court Rule 9, which requires the payment of annual registration fees to the Board of Professional Responsibility:Kathleen Lynn Chambers, San Ramon, Calif.Anthony William Desmond...

Corporate crime is big news. Lawyers practicing in Tennessee face an increasing likelihood of being asked to assist business clients in responding to an allegation of criminal wrongdoing. To protect the business and to avoid inadvertent harm to others (and your license), counsel must both understand the attorney-client privilege of an organization.

For transitory actions generally, a plaintiff has two venue choices. The plaintiff can commence the action in the county where the defendant resides or in the county where the cause of action arose. Tenn. Code Ann. §20-4-101(a). What about suing in any county where the defendant can be served with summons and complaint (“is found”)? This third...

Mark Twain once said, “Shakespeare is dead, and I’m not feeling so good myself.” But to borrow another line from Twain, it appears that the reports of William Shakespeare’s death are highly exaggerated. In fact, William Shakespeare is alive and well, and while he is not living in Memphis, he’s at least appearing in court there.